Landscape Design for Older People’s Homes

by Eleni Mente

Growing old is unavoidable – part of life’s journey – but the ancient Greeks believed ageing comes with wisdom, which most in society aspire to attain. The vulnerability of the elderly has become starkly evident during the recent pandemic. By 2050, the number of people aged over 65 years is projected to more than double across the globe, while those aged under 25 years are projected to peak and then decline (source: World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet. United Nations). By the same year, the UK Office for the National Statistics predicts one in four people will be aged 65 years plus – an increase from approximately one in five in 2019.

With these statistics in mind, the delivery of high-quality landscape design for older people’s housing has never been more critical – and the need is increasing. Government strategy advocates design to support the needs of older people (e.g., Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods). As landscape practitioners, we must champion the benefits of delivering outdoor space that complements and supports facilities offered indoors. Beautiful, environmentally sustainable, and life-enhancing communities are at the centre of widespread planning changes announced by the Housing Secretary in July 2021. Beauty is a quality that gives intense pleasure to the mind. This sensation is interconnected with wellbeing, which is especially vital for vulnerable groups like the elderly. There is beauty in the creation of landscaped spaces that offer an enhanced quality of life for people, irrespective of age, but the functions that garden spaces can support within the setting of older people’s housing are particularly special. An outdoor terrace with playable features could help a young family reconnect with an elderly loved one; a courtyard designed with circular walking routes could give assurance and independence to an older person with dementia; spring birdsong from mature trees could bring a sense of wildlife into a home without the need to step outside.

Well-considered landscaped spaces can offer a type of continuity of care for residents. On top of the medical and support-led facilities found inside, the balmy sense of being close to nature can offer mental and physical health benefits when outside. Maintaining an active lifestyle is no less important for older people, and this can be supported by walking routes, gardening tasks and spaces for programmed activities. Creating a social environment is equally important. Well-designed landscapes can create a social ‘heart’ with gathering spaces that thrive with life and joy. Older people’s homes may be set within a wider community where valuable interaction is attained, and many extra care schemes provide an active ‘hub’ – such as a hairdressers, coffee stall or community café overlooking an entrance.

A series of outdoor spaces were provided at Hazelhurst Court (London Borough of Lewisham, completed in 2017 for Phoenix Community Housing), where 60 extra care homes were integrated into an existing residential community. A planted courtyard supports walking routes with strong views and connections to indoor uses. A raised fishpond with points for leaning and sitting give a tranquil feel, with planting framing smaller spaces to chat or sit and think. Touches like nighttime lighting, spring bulb layering and scented climbers reaching up to above ground apartments make the space feel special for residents. Contrasting with this, an expansive planted garden reaches across to existing residents with apple trees, wildflower meadow and shrub planting – all beneath existing mature trees. Arrival at the community is signalled by an uncluttered sharedsurface street with parking – so distinct in design from a traditional highway that one resident uses it as a space for tai chi in early morning light. The feeling experienced on arrival is critical to getting the character and ‘tone’ of a community right – the same goes for older people’s housing as for any other type. Despite this, it is common for visitors to older people’s housing to be greeted by expanses of parking spaces. Arrival spaces should be held in higher regard, with trees, planting, sustainable drainage and a materials palette that speaks of ‘home’ not ‘highway’.

Hazelhurst Court

© Levitt Bernstein

A garden party held for residents at The Courtyards, Dovedale Avenue (Preston, independent living homes completed in 2021 for Community Gateway Association), explored the impact of these landscape design principles. Residents spoke broadly of their enjoyment of the garden spaces, but relished in the details, citing outdoor gym equipment, night-time lighting, well-proportioned patios and terraces, barbeque spaces, pergolas with climbing plants and a water feature. The courtyard gardens function well as they support the breadth of ages in the community. Active residents enjoy photography, walks and outdoor dining whilst older individuals may take a more measured stroll with a nurse once a day after tending to tomato plants on the balcony. The landscaped spaces have found a positive role in the day-to-day routines of residents – be that checking the climbing plants are twining correctly or leaning over the (low) boundary railing for a morning chat. These are heart-warming affirmations of the landscape design response.

The Courtyards

© Tom Biddle

We are all moving forward into an ageing society and will very probably experience old age ourselves. Let us utilise our power as designers to abandon the ‘institutional’ and instead celebrate beauty through spaces that delight, invite play, speak of the seasons and promote use with warmth and laughter. We must linger in the detail and pre-empt the value that older people derive from ageless, vibrant spaces where we all, at some stage, may feel part of the natural world.

Eleni Mente CMLI is a Senior Landscape Architect at Levitt Bernstein.